Japan eyes law restricting gene editing of human eggs

Kyodo News
Posted at Apr 12 2019 02:53 PM
A technician works with genome samples at a lab of the biotech company Sinogene that specialises in dog cloning, in Beijing, China June 15, 2018. Thomas Peter, Reuters/File Photo
TOKYO - Japan plans to introduce a law for restricting gene editing of fertilized human eggs to only basic research purposes and ban their return to the uterus, sources close to the matter said Friday.
Deeming penalties are necessary to prevent abuse of the controversial technology, the Cabinet Office is expected to propose legislation at a bioethics panel meeting on April 22. The science and health ministries will discuss the specifics before setting them in the fall, the sources said.
The move comes after a Chinese researcher announced in January a twin had been born with edited genomes, igniting international debate over the ethics of the procedure and calls within Japan for a law to restrict the use of the technology.
Japan had sought to tighten control with an ethics guideline introduced on April 1, but it decided an additional measure was necessary given that the incident in China took place even though the country had its own guideline.
While gene editing has aroused hopes it will help people overcome genetic disorders, it is also feared it may pave the way to the creation of "designer babies," with people selecting or altering the gene makeup of their babies to match their preference, which could also affect following generations.
After a method for easily cutting, replacing and inserting genes called CRISPR-Cas9 was developed in 2012, gene editing became widely used in the agricultural and medical sectors, although its application to fertilized human eggs remains controversial and is banned in many countries except for basic research.
Germany and France ban gene editing research that could lead to the birth of a child, while the United States bans the government from funding such studies on fertilized eggs.
==Kyodo

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more